Fish stocks thrive in Scotland's Summer Isles after a 10-year scallop-dredging ban protected rare maerl beds
The protected area of about 150,000 acres holds all of the region's maerl, a seaweed that fish breed among.
- Ban in place for 10 years
- About 150,000 acres protected
- Maerl beds up to 9,000 years old
The recovery
Off Scotland's northwest coast, a protected area of about 150,000 acres around the Summer Isles has banned scallop dredging for 10 years. It holds all of the region's maerl beds, a magenta seaweed that forms chalky nodules. Scallop diver Alasdair Hughson says the recovery has happened 'night to day'.
Why maerl matters
Herring, cod and haddock breed among the maerl, and the area also hosts whales, dolphins and porpoises. Two beds over a mile long have grown in the same place for about 9,000 years, and one pass of industrial dredging gear can crush or bury about 70% of the maerl it touches. The Blue Hope Alliance, a group of citizen scientists and activists, pushed for the ban. The report relies on the Guardian and names no specific study.
